


test and teach

by wafflelate



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Genre: Gen, Team Bonding, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 13:26:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18941917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflelate/pseuds/wafflelate
Summary: Kakashi meets Sai for the first time.





	test and teach

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiezh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiezh/gifts).



> **kiezh asked:**
>
>> _An interaction with Shikako, Sai, and Kakashi - what's Kakashi's perspective on Shikako adopting socially-stunted Root agents?_   
> 
> 
> (Originally posted on my tumblr — but please don't send me prompts there anymore!)
> 
>   * hell yes more Sai. i love Sai so much.
>   * takes place some time after the current chapter (ch 146/145) but doesn’t really contain any spoilers or anything.
>   * I’m pretty sure that Kakashi hasn’t actually met Sai — Sai was at Naruto’s going away party, but Kakashi was in the hospital for chakra exhaustion. I didn’t check this very closely tho.
>   * also i’m pretty sure that Shikako hasn’t told anyone about her water whip thing but I only like… scanned the Wave arc for that so who knows.
> 


There’s a stranger in Team 7’s training ground.

It’s not like Kakashi or his students ever actually book the training ground, because it’s rare for anyone but them to chose to train so close to the memorial, and most of the people who might consider it know that it’s Team Kakashi’s space. Still, there’s always some wayward unobservant chūnin or fresh genin looking for a place to train, and occasionally they end up here. They’re always easy to scare off, and if they get snotty Kakashi sends them to Gai’s training ground for all the training they can stand.

(This is a punishment for them and a favor to Gai, who loves helping.)

The boy in the field is about the age of Kakashi’s precious not-genin-any-more genin and he’s not even training. He’s leaning up against the training posts, lapdesk out, drawing. Kakashi will give him this: it’s an unorthodox use of a training field.

“Aa, this seems like something you could be doing anywhere,” Kakashi says as he drops into view.

The boy is not surprised. He looks up at Kakashi calmly and gives a slow blink. “I believe there are several locations where this would be difficult,” says the boy.

A shiver walks up Kakashi’s spine. The blandness of the boy’s expression, the flat look in his eyes… he’s not confused, or annoyed, or nervous. He’s not anything, not like he should be with Kakashi standing over him and hinting that he should get out. 

Tenzō had been the same way when Kakashi met him. Untouchable and untouching. Not missing social cues so much as not even attempting to look for them, sorting every interaction into Orders and Not Orders. And Tenzō had had the same bland tantō, the same standard-issue shoes and slightly subpar equipment pouches.

“I have training scheduled here,” Kakashi says, “so this is about to become one of those places.” He does not waste a smile or a cheerful, friendly tone on this boy. He speaks flatly, directly. 

Kakashi is the boy’s superior and he will order him away if that’s what it takes to keep Danzō’s grasp from closing in around his kids.

The boy smiles, a rearrangement of his face with no feeling behind it. “I checked the training ground bookings and no one was scheduled to use this field,” says the boy. “But I think we are here for the same training partner, because you were Nara Shikako’s jōnin-sensei.”

“Don’t be rude, I’m still her sensei,” Kakashi says, and then gives the boy a second look with this new information. “You must be Sai.”

“I am,” says the boy, and now Kakashi feels rude.

And even more worried, because Naruto has described his and Shikako’s occasional mission partner as ‘kinda weird, but good, y’know?’ and Kakashi had had no idea that Shimura Danzō had managed to get one of his lackies so close to the kids. What in the fuck is Tsunade thinking.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Kakashi says. “Why don’t we spar? I have to make sure Shikako-chan’s teammates can keep up.”

Kakashi had thought that he could depend on Tsunade to keep unsuitable mission partners away from his team, but apparently not. He’ll have to get a little more hands on, starting with a good evaluation of Sai.

“Yes,” Sai agrees blandly. “It is good to know if someone precious to you has teammates they can trust.”

The problem with ROOT agents is that you can’t even tell when they’re being threatening. Tenzō used to say things like, ‘I’ll gut you like a fish’ in the same tone of voice he’d say ‘I’ll lend you my whetstone’ and that tone of voice was wrong for both.

Sai tucks his drawings away and they fight. Sai is good, but uninventive. He uses a lot of the same moves Tenzō started out with, at least right up until he pulls out a scroll and a brush. 

Kakashi has had this skill of Sai’s described to him a couple times by Naruto, with lots of enthusiasm and little technical detail, so he’s not surprised when chakra constructs leap of the page but he is surprised at how fast Sai can produce them. Faster than any Kurama Kakashi has ever known, although that’s not saying much — the clan heir that Anko is teaching is maybe the only one who’s ever attempted to use the Kurama clan jutsu for combat, a choice that has Shikako’s fingerprints all over it — and Sai has the advantage of working without color.

Shikako shows up when Kakashi is closing in on destroying Sai’s last ink beast. She lingers on the edge of the training field, cautious as always about interrupting even a spar as lazy as this one.

(Well, lazy for Kakashi. Sai has worked up quite a sweat. He’s not entirely useless, but he’s still probably the enemy.)

When Kakashi stops and looks towards where Shikako is waiting, Sai halts, too. Shikako practically bounces onto the field moments later.

“Sorry I’m late, Kofuku-oba trapped me with more questions about Shika’s arm seal,” she says. “Hi, sensei! I see you met Sai. And stuff.”

“Yes, we’re acquainted now,” Sai says. “I have been assessed to see if I have weaknesses that may lead to you being injured or killed while working with me.”

“Okay,” Shikako says slowly. She looks at Kakashi critically. “I’m sure that’s not exactly what you meant, right Kakashi-sensei?”

“I was just curious about his combat skills,” Kakashi says innocently. “Naruto is terrible at explaining things, you know.”

“Don’t bully my friends,” Shikako chides, like an academy teacher lecturing pre-genin to share their kunai.

“How come you always assume the worst of your poor sensei?” Kakashi complains. “I just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t break on one of your rough, scary missions.”

“It was a good spar,” Sai says. “I enjoyed having my skills assessed.”

Shikako looks suspiciously between them, dissatisfied, but eventually decides to move on.

“Fine,” she says, and claps her hands together. “Since sensei is so interested in making sure your combat skills are developed and well-rounded—”

“I never said that,” Kakashi objects, uselessly, because he can see where this is going.

“—he can teach you some new things!” Shikako says. “He knows lots of water jutsu, you know.”

“You teach him some water jutsu,” Kakashi demands.

Shikako blinks at him. “I don’t know any? I mean I guess there are some in that book you gave us, but…”

“You used water whip months ago,” Kakashi says. “Without seals. Teach him that, it’s B-rank.”

“What?” Shikako asks. “When do you think you saw me do a B-rank — are you talking about the chūnin exams?”

Kakashi says, “I understand it can be hard to remember what exactly you pulled out in the heat of the moment.to please the crowd.”

“You said that your chūnin exam fights in Grass weren’t very interesting,” Sai observes. 

Shikako is such a liar. It’s actually almost embarrassing.

“Really?” Kakashi asks, keeping his voice mild and raising his visible eyebrow at Shikako. “I guess we remember those fights very differently. But you definitely used water whip.”

“Sensei, I did not,” grumbles Shikako. She crosses her arms and gets that look that says she thinks she’s going to say something embarrassing. “It’s just a dumb chakra trick. For chakra control. I can’t just teach it to someone unless they want to spend a year or two messing around with it.”

“A… chakra control exercise,” Kakashi repeats. 

“I think it becomes a technique once you attack someone with it successfully,” Sai offers.

Shikako says, “Well, it didn’t really do anything.”

“That’s because you were attacking the Kazekage,” Kakashi says dryly. “What kind of chakra control exercises have you been doing?”

“I made some up,” Shikako says, which doesn’t answer the question.

“You attacked a foreign Kage?” Sai asks. He actually manages to sound like… something. Worried, maybe? It’s probably Kakashi’s ears playing tricks on him. 

“He wasn’t the Kazekage yet,” Shikako grumbles. 

She gets so petulant when people start talking about her like she’s impressive. It’s adorable.

“Show us your chakra trick.” Kakashi waves in the general direction of the stream. “It’s a good learning experience for all of us.”

“Sensei, you’re not getting out of teaching Sai something,” Shikako warns him, but she does lead them over to the stream and show them her water whip.

It starts with water scooped out of the stream into a hollow ball of chakra. The chakra becomes a cylinder. The cylinder becomes a whip, and Shikako uses it to smack an impressive splash out of the stream. Water, she explains, is noncompressible. Also she doesn’t really know how to use a whip but it’s an easy shape to make and more impressive than a staff..

How is it that Shikako still manages to surprise him all the time?

“How long can you hold that?” Kakashi asks.

Shikako shrugs. “I don’t know, I’ve never tried to test it. Two hours? More?”

“Well, I guess if your fight lasts that long it won’t be chakra exhaustion that gets you,” Kakashi acknowledges. 

“Oh,” says Shikako. “No, that’s not what I meant. After a couple hours the chakra bleed would mean that I wouldn’t be able to reabsorb any of the chakra, it’d be all used up. But I’d still be able to make another one.”

Kakashi huffs. “Chakra cycling. For external chakra manipulation. And you didn’t think you should mention that?”

Shikako’s brow furrows. “Is it a big deal?”

Is it a big deal, she asks. Kakashi wants to laugh and cover his face. Instead he says, “You’re probably right that you can’t teach Sai that. So, fine. Water jutsu. But I want something in return. I want…”

Kakashi turns to Sai and lets a sliver of ominous intent work its way into the air between them. 

Kakashi draws the moment out, watching the way Sai reacts — his shoulders pull back, his stance evens out. Preparing to take a blow, literal or metaphoric, but not scared for his safety, likely because he registers that Shikako is exasperated by Kakashi’s dramatics rather than concerned.

Tenzō used to tense by relaxing to accept a blow just the same way, especially when it came to receiving instruction. Kakashi catches himself planning how to fix that in Sai, too, and kind of hates himself for his own predictability. Maybe, at least, he can introduce Sai to Tenzō and his kohai will do most of the work?

“…drawings of my ninken,” Kakashi completes.

Sai’s eyes open a little wider. His mouth falls open for just a moment and he feels the need to glance at Shikako as it to make sure Kakashi is serious. His surprise is immensely satisfying.

Carefully — probably unsure if this counts as backtalk or intel gathering — Sai asks, “How many ninken do you have?”

“Lots! Which is why he’ll give you one jutsu for each drawing,” Shikako interjects, before Kakashi can snow Sai into doing all that work for one C-rank water jutsu. A look at Shikako shows she’s definitely going to stick to that, too. No arguing her down with that look.

Damn.

“Fine,” Kakashi says, aiming his best woe-is-me face at Shikako. “You work this old man so hard.”

She laughs at him. “Someone has to,” she says, like coercing him into sharing his precious jutsu with random Danzō minions is some kind of public service she provides for the good of the village. 

At least now Kakashi will be able to keep a closer eye on Sai. The boy can’t very well disappear into whatever muck Danzō usually has him wading through when he owes Kakashi eight dog portraits. Shikako looks so satisfied by this arrangement that Kakashi wonders if this is exactly what she had planned.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had to leave the WajDoS server but you can find me on my new DoS server, [Heliocentric](https://discord.gg/rCtwMQG).


End file.
